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San Francisco's future
By mid-1916, after viewing the carnage in Europe, the United States saw itself poised with great reluctance on the edge of participation in World War I. Isolationism and anti-preparedness feeling remained strong in San Francisco, not only among radicals such as the International Workers of the Worlds ("the Wobblies"), but also among responsible labor leaders. At the same time, with the rise of Bolshevism...

Army pack train bringing supplies.
This film highlights the role of the United States Army in transporting supplies following the 1906 earthquake and fire in San Francisco. The Army's relief operations headquarters was at their base, the Presidio, outside the burned part of the city. The Army played a major role in relief and refugee operations. In the first weeks after the fire, food, water, tents, blankets, medical supplies,...

Exploded gas tanks, U.S. Mint, Emporium and Spreckels Bld'g
Exploded gas tanks, U.S. Mint, Emporium and Spreckels Building
This film is a spectacular pan of the downtown area of San Francisco as seen from south of Market Street. The location among low ruins was ideal to view the tall ruined buildings along and north of Market Street. Since the facade of St. Patrick's Church is not visible in the pan, the film is probably later than May 9, the date the facade...

Scenes in San Francisco, [no. 1]
Scenes of San Francisco, [no. 1] | Scenes of San Francisco. | San Francisco
This film is a compilation of views and pans among the ruins of San Francisco after the earthquake and fire and dates from Wednesday, May 9, 1906. The film was shot in the downtown area along Market and Mission streets. The following is a scene-by-scene description of the film: [Frame: 0100] The camera, positioned at the southwest corner of Mission and 5th streets, makes...

San Francisco disaster
This film shows the partial burning of a small-scale model of downtown San Francisco in an early attempt at simulating the 1906 disaster. The model is seen in aerial view from above the South-of-Market district, looking northwest toward Market Street and the downtown area. Russian Hill (left) and Telegraph Hill (right) are shown in a painted background. The Call Building at 3rd and Market...

Scenes in San Francisco, [no. 2]
Scenes of San Francisco, [no. 2] | Scenes of San Francisco. | San Francisco
This film is a compilation of panoramas filmed in the ruins of downtown San Francisco and outlying refugee camps following the 1906 earthquake and fire. The film dates from Wednesday, May 9, 1906. The following is a scene-by-scene description of the film: [Frame: 0102 (part 1)] The film begins with a long, dramatic pan of downtown ruins viewed from Natoma Street between 4th and...

[Unidentified Staples & Charles. San Francisco after the eart...
San Francisco after the earthquake and fire of 1906
This film is made up of five panoramas, four wide and one close-up, of the ruins of downtown San Francisco shortly after the 1906 disaster, plus a panorama and scene in a nearby refugee camp. Original intertitles precede each change of scene, but the locations provided are incorrect for three of the five views. The state of the ruins and camp suggest a date...

Mabel and Fatty viewing the World's Fair at San Francisco, Cal.
Mabel and Fatty at the World's Fair | Frisco story
The 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition was San Francisco's second fair (following the 1894 Mid-Winter Fair) and her first major exposition. The 1915 fair celebrated both the opening of the newly-completed Panama Canal -- a triumph of Franco-American engineering -- and the newly-rebuilt San Francisco, vital and vigorous after recovering from the 1906 earthquake and fire. The fair opened on February 20, 1915, and closed December...

San Francisco earthquake and fire, April 18, 1906
Shows the aftermath of the San Francisco earthquake of April 18, 1906, and the devastation resulting from the subsequent three-day fire. The earthquake struck at 5:12 a.m. San Francisco, with thousands of unreinforced brick buildings, and closely-spaced wooden Victorian dwellings, was poorly prepared for a major fire. The scenes in the film are preceded by interior titles, many of which are sensationalized. One scene...

Contributor:
Afi/Adams (L. F.) Collection (Library of Congress)

Date:1906

Film, Video

Before and after the great earthquake and fire early films of...
San Francisco films
Site offers a perspective on the effects the San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fires of 1906 had on the development of the city. Seventeen films shot before the devastating events and seven shot detailing the horrendous damage are available for viewing. In addition a 1915 and 1916 film are included to illustrate the rebuilt area.